Hogwarts Express

For the last three days the boys have been turning their bunk bed into the Hogwarts Express. While I generally cringe when I see this kind of mess, I've actually enjoyed watching and listening to the boys working together, imagining together, solving problems together, and generally loving playing together. So, the mess isn't so troubling. Besides, they clean it all up before bed each night. I'm so grateful for these little glimpses that make all the rough days seem worth it!

Fifteen Months

This was a first for us; the boys never had 15 month appointments. Elyse must have sensed the injustice of it because she was a tyrant at her appointment. She even managed to break the pediatrician's head measuring thing in a fit of rage. The good news is that she is very solidly on the weight chart, weighing in at a whooping 20 pounds. At 15 months Elyse is:
• walking pretty steadily, less steadily when she's tired.
• still not napping, at least not in crib. Sometimes she'll sleep over an hour in her car seat, but it's not all that uncommon for her only to sleep 20 minutes during the day.
• an excellent screecher. We like to call her our screecher creature.
• starting to be very opinionated about food, and actually just about everything. When she's not interested in eating something in front of her it quickly ends up on the floor.
• loves pressing buttons. She runs down the hall with a pointed finger whenever I'm near the washer and dryer.
• loves to scribble, especially with markers or sidewalk chalk.
• loves to wave good bye to Matthew at the bus stop.
• gives the best little kisses.
• tolerates the gym childcare pretty well, but still cries when I drop her off.

This is one of our most recent photos of Elyse, taking a quick nap in the middle of the gym kids club.

Between Sessions

We took advantage of the unseasonable warm weather and went for a strategically planned walk; a route with blackberry bushes along the way. We did pretty well!